Hera S.p.A (Holding Energia Risorse Ambiente, ''Energy Resource Environment Holdings'') is a multiutility company based in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Hera operates in the distribution of gas, water, energy, and waste disposal in the provinces of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stre ...

, Forlì-Cesena,

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. A town, and seat ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminus ...

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche ...

and

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of ...

, and in some municipalities of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

and

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

. In October 2012, Hera approved the merger with AcegasAps Group, which operates in the cities of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of ...

and

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

. On 1 July 2014 AMGA, which operates in

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and '' comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with ...

merged with Hera Group. In 2014, Hera was the number one Italian domestic operator in terms of the amount of waste treated (over 6.4 million tons), in second place for the integrated water cycle (294 million m³), the third larger player in gas distribution (2.6 billion cm) and fourth in the Italian Electricity business in terms of electricity sold (9.1 TWh).

Corporate history

Hera was established in 2002 through the first merger of public utilities in the

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

region, which involved 11 companies. In 2003, Hera started the process of listing on the

Milan Stock Exchange Borsa Italiana, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies.italy24.i ...

, which led the company to be partly privatized with 38.8% of its present share capital in private sectors. After 2003, Hera started to grow. In over five years, the Group merged with other Italian companies operating in distribution of energy, water and gas, such as Agea, Ecosea, Meta, Geat Distribution Gas, and Sat Inc. Hera also had many long-term contracts with foreign suppliers over the years that followed. In 2006, Hera signed a memorandum of understanding with

Enel Enel S.p.A. is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel, which originally stood for Ente nazionale per l'energia elettrica (National Electricity Board), was first established as a public body at the ...

, Edison and

Sonatrach Sonatrach ( ar, سوناطراك; french: Société Nationale pour la Recherche, la Production, le Transport, la Transformation, et la Commercialisation des Hydrocarbures) is the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1963, it is ...

. The memorandum provided for the purchase of one billion cubic meters a year of natural gas transported through the methane pipeline belonging to Galsi, a partner company of Hera. In July 2008, Hera acquired ''Megas Trade'', selling gas and electricity in the

area, owned by ''Marche Multiservices''. The transaction formalized the birth of Hera Comm Marche, the commercial branch of the Hera Group for the

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

region, managed by Hera Comm. On 25 July 2012, approval was given for the merger with Acegas-Aps S.p.A. (Trieste-Padua), which became part of the Hera Group as of 1 January 2013. On 1 July 2014 AMGA – Azienda Multiservizi S.p.A. merged with Hera Group.

Company profile and organizational structure

Strategies and activities are mainly carried out by the Holding, which has a leading and coordinating role throughout its seven Divisions: Environment, Services, Sales and Marketing, Fluids Distribution, Large Plants Engineering and Electricity Distribution, and District Heating. Hera Comm is the

trading company Trading companies are businesses working with different kinds of products which are sold for consumer, business, or government purposes. Trading companies buy a specialized range of products, maintain a stock or a shop, and deliver products to cust ...

of Hera Group, operating in the electricity and gas market throughout Italy. Hera Comm Mediterranea operates exclusively in Southern Italy; Hera Comm Marche, located in

, is the commercial branch of the Hera Group in the Marche region. Hera has a wide shareholding structure. The structure includes over 118 public institutions, over 700 professional investors, and over 19.000 private shareholders. The results in terms of

EBITDA A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced , , or ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, stat ...

and net profit achieved by the Hera Group since its establishment have registered continuous growth over the years. Hera follows a dividend distribution policy that rewards Group shareholders; the Municipalities, are the main beneficiaries of Hera’s

dividend policy Dividend policy is concerned with financial policies regarding paying cash dividend in the present or paying an increased dividend at a later stage. Whether to issue dividends, and what amount, is determined mainly on the basis of the company's un ...

Shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal ow ...

Base as at 4 July 2022: * Municipality of

(12,599%) * Municipality of

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical r ...

(7,375%) * Municipality of

(6,863%) * Municipality of

(6,470%) * Lazard Asset Management LLC (5,043%) * Municipality of

(4,954%) * Municipality of

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and '' comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of t ...

(4,803%) * Municipality of

(3,836%)

Current operations

The Hera Group operates in the public utility services sector, pursuing a sustainable management policy. The Group’s main activities are: management of waste services (waste collection and disposal,

waste-to-energy Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. M ...

and

composting Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting ...

), water services (treatment, purification, sewerage) and energy services (distribution and sale of

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on ...

gas and electricity, district heating). Hera Group

composition (as at 31 December 2021): * Waste Management (23.8%) * Water (21.4%) * Electricity (11.8%) * Gas (39.8%) * Other Services (3%) Hera has the largest number of waste treatment plants in Italy. The environmental hygiene services provided by Hera Group in 198 municipalities in Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Tuscany and Veneto are part of an integrated waste management system. Activities include separated urban waste collection, washing and cleaning roads, pavements and porticos, cleaning up green areas and complementary services such as the reclamation of degraded areas and cleaning up beaches. The high percentage of separate waste collection and disposal in the reference areas makes the Group a major national operator in the field of environmental services: * waste treated: 6.8 million tonnes * separated waste collection: 65.3% * number of plants: 97 Hera Group is one of the largest Italian operators in integrated water service management. With a total network of over 53 thousand km and approximately 1,400 production plants (such as wells), treatment plants and purification plants, 3.6 million citizens receive catchment, treatment, distribution, sewerage and purification services: * water customers: 1.5 million * cubic metres of water sold: 291.5 million Hera is also a major national operator in gas and electricity sectors. Managing networks spanning 20 thousand km, Hera Group distributes natural gas in the provinces of Bologna, Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, Ferrara, Modena, Rimini, Florence, Padua, Trieste, Gorizia and Udine. Through its subsidiary Marche Multiservizi, it also has a presence in the province of Pesaro-Urbino. In Bologna, Imola, Forlì, Cesena, Ferrara, Modena, Ravenna and Padua, the Group also offers district heating services, providing heat to buildings located far away from the point of production. With networks spanning 460 km, Hera serves around 82 thousand apartments. In 2013, its environmentally-friendly technology enabled it to achieve a primary energy saving of more than 34 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). Hera also oversees the distribution of electricity through 12 thousand km of grids in 26 municipalities in the provinces of Modena, Bologna, Ravenna, Gorizia and Trieste, serving a total of around 623 thousand inhabitants. The Group’s main commitment in this sector is to the implementation of smart grids and the distribution of digital meters. These are designed to ensure the rapid and remote management and exchange of an enormous volume of information about effective electricity consumption between producer, distributor and consumer. * gas customers: 2.1 million; * electricity customers: 1,4 million; * cubic metres of gas sold: 16.2 billion; * electricity sold: 11.7 TWh.

Competitors and market shares: benchmark by business

Hera Group can be compared to the other listed Italian multi-utilities. Comparison on operating data by business (waste, water, gas and electricity) also highlights the market shares.

Waste: waste treated 2021 (thousands of
tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...
)

* Hera Group 6,766.6 * Iren 3,646 * A2A 3,423 *

Acea Acea is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Eusebio Acea (born 1969), Cuban rower * Francis Acea (born 1967), Cuban artist *John Adriano Acea John Adriano Acea (September 11, 1917 – July 25, 1963) was an American jazz pia ...

1,737

Water: volumes sold 2021 (million of
cubic meters The cubic metre (in Commonwealth English and international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or cubic meter (in American English) is the unit of volume in the International System of Units (SI). Its symbol is m ...
)

* Hera Group 291.5 * Iren 175 * A2A 76.4

Gas: volumes sold 2021 (billion of
cubic meters The cubic metre (in Commonwealth English and international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or cubic meter (in American English) is the unit of volume in the International System of Units (SI). Its symbol is m ...
)

* Hera Group 16,242.9 * Iren 2,927 * A2A 2,711 *

214

Electricity: electricity sold 2021 (GWh)

* A2A 18,426 * Hera Group 11,714.9 *

8,256 * Iren 7,354

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Electric power companies of Italy Oil and gas companies of Italy Companies based in Bologna Italian companies established in 2002 Energy companies of Italy Energy companies established in 2002